Delhi police unsure over odd even number dicision

New Delhi: A day after the Delhi government’s decision to restrict plying of private vehicles through even-odd classification of registration numbers from January 1, the Delhi Police said it was yet to receive any official communication on this.

“I can’t comment on the issue. There is no clarification on it. We just heard it through media and read about it in the newspapers,” Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Muktesh Chander told IANS.

Delhi traffic police are tasked with managing vehicular movement in the national capital.

The Delhi government’s decision will apply to some 95 lakh vehicles registered in the city and the lakhs more which enter the metropolis every day from neighbouring states such as Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab.

About 1,500 new vehicles are added every day to the city roads.

Delhi’s vehicular population – which causes choking jams on all weekdays – includes some 27 lakh cars.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the air quality of Delhi is said to be “very poor” with an air quality index of 331.

When air quality index ranges between 301 and 400, the air is said to cause respiratory illness on prolonged exposure.

Chander said he can comment on the implementation of the decision only after there is a formal communication.

“If there is a meeting, a discussion, or a letter, we will come to know about the details. How can I say anything over the issue at present,” Chander said.

Asked if it is feasible to implement the odd and even registration number classification on city roads on alternate days, Chander said: “It would be a hypothetical talk and such discussion is not ethical.”

“If there is an official information, letter or conversation, we will surely talk about the issue,” Chander said.

The Delhi Government had caused a surprise on Friday with its decision that private vehicles bearing odd and even registration numbers as the last digit will be allowed to ply on alternate days from the first day of the new year.

The sweeping move – like the one taken in Beijing in 2013 – came after the Delhi High Court compared the national capital to “a gas chamber” and sought immediate action from the central and Delhi governments.

A police officer, who did not want to be named, said it would be an “arduous task” to implement the decision.

“The decision will create its own issues. The public transport is not robust enough to properly cater to needs of Delhi residents,” the officer said.

Another official expressed surprise at the government taking such a huge decision without consulting the agency which has to implement it.

The Association of Publishers in India (API) on Tuesday welcomed the Delhi High Court order which stipulated that sale of non-NCERT books must not be disallowed in CBSE-affiliated schools, calling the practice “discriminatory”.

“The court decision exemplifies the point that an ideal education system is the one that recognizes the role of multiple stakeholders and is learner-centric. The decision has been welcomed by not just students and parents but also by schools, private publishers, authors and others as it symbolizes ‘freedom of choice’ in education,” the representative body of publishers of academic texts said in a statement.

“The ruling, in addition to providing convenience to children and parents, will also enable them to choose books depending on their preference,” it said.

Arguing that the sale of books, stationery and other items sold by the school be treated as “essential requirements”, the court last week in a decision refused to put a ban on these activities. Pixabay

In doing so, the court overturned the April 2017 injunction issued by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which asked affiliating schools not to indulge in “commercial” activities.

The court said the availability of uniforms, non-NCERT reference books or even food items for sale only to the students of the school does not fall in the category of and cannot at all be considered as commercialization.

Earlier in its circular, the board had asked the schools to “desist from the unhealthy practice of coercing parents to buy textbooks, notebooks, stationery, uniforms, shoes, school bags etc from within the premise or from selected vendors only” and directed them to operate as doing “community service” as per the board by-laws.

Minister of State for Human Resource Development Upendra Kushwaha, in December last year, told Parliament that CBSE has not directed students or schools to buy or prescribe NCERT books only. (IANS)